The 2009 Moral Victory National Championship
by kleph on Jan 11, 2010 7:00 AM CST
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So pretty much every key victory in the Crimson Tide's undefeated run through the 2009 season was followed by an opposing fanbase crying foul and insisting that their team really deserved to win. Sadly though, victories are still awarded to the team with the most points on the scoreboard when time expires.
But we here at Roll Bama Roll are nothing if not caring. We would like to not only address this horrible state of affairs but also offer a resolution to the ongoing debate about the lack of a playoff to determine the true champion. Thus we present the 2009 Moral Victory National Championship playoff in order to determine the coveted mantle of "The People's Champion."
As you are aware, the Alabama Crimson Tide won the BCS National Championship with a victory in Pasadena, California last week. While no team was able to beat the Crimson Tide on the football field this season, no less than four teams insist they should have won their particular game. The MVNC allows these teams and their claims to victory go head to head so it can be definitively decided which one has the best moral victory of the season.
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Genius!
I love it!
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." - Bear Bryant
ultimately Tenn will have won yet another moral victory by having robbed the Texas locker room without detection
"There's a lot of blood, sweat and guts between dreams and success." PBB
by Pachyderm Pride on Jan 11, 2010 7:29 AM CST reply actions
EPIC!
Kleph is lulz
You play fast, you play strong, you go out there and dominate the guy you play against, and make his ass quit! That's our trademark, that's our MO as a team, aight, that's what people know us as! - Nick Saban, 2008
The whiner bowl series?
Tennessee should run their mouths, they got wipe ass lucky to win their National Championship and they know it.
there's no guarentee or certainty we would've won with colt
i think our fanbase is torn between those that insist that we would’ve won
and others who just wanted to see the game with colt
at the very least i’m glad we got to get a glimpse of the future
congrats on the win
class post
my encounters with live UT fans [i.e., not on the boards] have almost all been universal this way. Of course, they all—as do we—wish Colt had been able to play, but also recognize that game injuries—as opposed to missing a game for reasons unrelated to the game—are themselves part of the game. I even had one UT fan beat me to the punch commenting on Ro playing with stomach flu.
While I think this thread is fun, I actually think we have two tiers here: UT & LSU, whose fans overall seem to have perspective on the issues highlighted above, with UCheat & the Barners hopelessly caught up in fantasy.
Seems to me that if those teams think they failed or were cheated of victory, they should be able to use that as their motivation, their moral imperative, to succeed next year. As we did when we used our own failures at the end of 08 to drive our motivation in 09.
You can't win. You can't break even. You can't get out of the game.
by StablerRaider on Jan 11, 2010 11:17 AM CST up reply actions
I'll admit - I laughed
As an LSU fan living in Texas, I’ve been forced to defend Bama (which has caused me no shortage of pain). My standard response has been to ask which running back got hurt to justify their inability to run the ball. You leave off in the LSU excuses that we had a whole bunch of injuries AND the bad calls. Which doesn’t mean we’re better than Bama, but it does mean we’re better than Texas. Our excuses our ten times better. And we actually had a lead in the fourth quarter. (Right? Right? Can I get a little help? No? Damn.)
What a frustrating year…
Fake Pundit. Real Fan.
http://www.andthevalleyshook.com
Very clever, Kleph.
Hat tip for the humor, sincerely. To the winner go the spoils, and Crimson Tide deserve all the spoils this year. Proved it on the field and that is where it matters most. Enjoy the championship celebration. It is a fleeting feeling, but, as you already know, puts a light step in your strut. You just feel better.
For the record, agree with the assessment about excuses. What’s the saying, “if’s and and’s were pots and pans there’d be no jobs for tinkers.” All fanbases want to grasp for some straw that helps deal with defeat. If the shoe was on the other foot, I’m sure some straw grasping would be going on here. That is just the way it is.
At the end of the day, maybe the game would have turned differently if Colt doesn’t go down. Not saying the outcome would change. Just maybe the game turns differently.
Enjoy the moment in the spotlight and congratulations to a fanbase who has endured a long-series of setbacks and tough games. Your dedication was finally rewarded.
And to all RBR faithful, we appreciate the positive exchanges we had in the MNC runup. Too bad the aftermath turned a little sour but such are the times. Having personally lost my cool a bit, I own that and take responsibility. Not necessarily the way I roll but pride often clouds judgment. No hard feelings from my end and I hope that is reciprocated. You guys do a great job at RBR and wish all the best to you.
"We don't freestyle Texas Fight, big boy." - Coach Brown
thanks...
of course, if you get the joke… it probably wasn’t aimed at you.
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
Que bueno
But I think Tennessee wins this with ease, as they not only had their moral victory against you guys but their epic moral victory against Florida, in which a) their head coach decided to run the clock out down just 10 points with 6 minutes to play or so b) he was greeted with universal hosannas from the fanbase for only losing by that 10-point margin.
Well, we can't count the Florida Game
Because Florida only wasn’t explosive because their entire team had the Flu, so obviously that’s why we didn’t see Percy Harvin’s Second Coming. Or, it could be that Florida could only score more than 30 points against teams who had defenses that lacked active cohesion between the left and right sides of their brain. And we had bad-Crompton that game.
Personally, if we’re going the moral spin on things, I’d put the caption at “Our kicker was injured” since I think that’s more of the gut-check every time I think about that game. Any Tennessee Fan with half an ounce of sense which both most of us only raised an issue about the helmet thing because the idiot announcers did, and backed off once the rulebooks were conferred.
Personally, I think Auburn takes the cake on this one. Their completely best, luckiest performance of the entire year wasn’t able to beat a fairly sloppy Alabama team, and a horrid game by Ingram. Hell, to hear some Auburn fans talk about the game you’d think they actually won, which wasn’t the case from what I recall. Most of us had the "holy crap, did we seriously just lose like that when we had Bama in that situation.
What I really want to see is a meltdown of the bowl season. Texas was hilarious when I went and read their thread, at times ;-) .
Tennessee Fans: We win at teh Internet!
by bobo_the_vol on Jan 11, 2010 8:50 AM CST up reply actions
While
nothing would give me more pleasure than to shed even more light on the total patheticness of the Auburn fans during a time when they must already reach deep down to find the positive, I have to say that I felt lucky to escape the UT game with a victory. I say that because the theme with the 2009 Alabama team has been stepping up in the 4th quarter. That theme seemed to evaporate in the UT game. Watching the Iron Bowl, you could feel Bama starting to get its legs back (at least on defense). You had the feeling that if Bama could just get one score, then its all she wrote. The UT game, however, I felt Bama controlled it until the Ingram fumble. Then you had that “holy sh!$ we are gonna lose this game” feeling. And that feeling resurfaced after UT got in very makeable field goal range with under a minute to go. After The Block I didn’t say “whoo hoo we won we beat UT!!” It was more like “thank god somebody made a play because we probably deserved to lose.”
"A demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots." -H. L. Mencken
by Bens4vcobra on Jan 11, 2010 10:10 AM CST up reply actions
Agreed
blocking a kick to win the game is lucky enough, but throw on top of that it was the second block on the quarter, and you are talking about ridiculous odds.
Bama gets everyone’s best, well, except for Texas. But it’s not their fault; it was unfair that McCoy got hurt.
You play fast, you play strong, you go out there and dominate the guy you play against, and make his ass quit! That's our trademark, that's our MO as a team, aight, that's what people know us as! - Nick Saban, 2008
by BamaReturns07 on Jan 11, 2010 10:15 AM CST up reply actions
No, it wasn't......
It most decidely was not unfair that Colt got hurt. BON had that great breakdown on the play. Notrhing unfair at all. Unfortunate maybe. Unfair, no.
You can't win. You can't break even. You can't get out of the game.
by StablerRaider on Jan 11, 2010 11:18 AM CST up reply actions
I know
that last sentence was me being a smart ass.
Of course it wasn’t unfair, or “unjust” as I have heard from some UT…I lol’d.
You play fast, you play strong, you go out there and dominate the guy you play against, and make his ass quit! That's our trademark, that's our MO as a team, aight, that's what people know us as! - Nick Saban, 2008
by BamaReturns07 on Jan 11, 2010 12:08 PM CST up reply actions
Sorry, too dense to catch the subtle sarcasm......
so, +1!
You can't win. You can't break even. You can't get out of the game.
by StablerRaider on Jan 11, 2010 5:58 PM CST up reply actions
Simply awsome idea!!
"The goal is to be a champion," Saban said. "I didn’t say to win a championship. I just said be a champion. That’s our goal here. That’s what we want to do."- Nick Saban
oh..and Texas wins by a land slide..
Starting four year starter coming in a with a HUGE chip on his shoulder, goes down on the 2nd series…back up true freshman comes in and nearly pulls the upset…on the biggest stage..shit, it isn’t even close..
UT and AU can take their moral victories and shove them where the sun doesn’t shine….
"The goal is to be a champion," Saban said. "I didn’t say to win a championship. I just said be a champion. That’s our goal here. That’s what we want to do."- Nick Saban
I still find it ironic...
that our defensive game plan only was valid for 5 plays and the rest of the game was purely react and adjust. It would have been nice to see what the score would have been if Colt didn’t get knocked out. Imagine it, a full game based on what you planned for 32 days.
"When you give a Gatorade bath, you're not suppose to hit the coach in the head with the bucket !" - Saban
Damn funny
Nothing worse than winning the Big One, and having everyone marginalize it with an asterick. ’Bama won the BCS fair & square…no qualifier.
For that, congratulations. I echo TXStampede…the runnup to the game was great, the post-game-posts have kind of sucked. I watched pre-game interviews with ‘Bama players and wanted desperately not to like them…but I couldn’t. They were classy, high-quality kids of integrity. (I just wish those of us fans could demonstrate that same kind of character online.)
We (Texas) had a really good season and we are to be proud of our team, our kids. But going beyond what DID happen and speculating on what MIGHT have happened is silly…there’s no upside for anyone.
My hat’s off to you Alabama…you had a great season and capped it off in style. Enjoy the ride. Roll Tide.
I so want to put a link to this on facebook
to piss off all my TN friends and AU friends, but I don’t want to stoop to their level. One of them joined a group titled, “Bama Didn’t really win a National Championship.”
by bamagirlinsocal on Jan 11, 2010 9:04 AM CST reply actions
There is no spoon National Championship?
Tennessee Fans: We win at teh Internet!
by bobo_the_vol on Jan 11, 2010 9:08 AM CST up reply actions
Thank you, kleph
Thanks for reminding me — with spot-on humor — how pointless it is to get into these arguments with fans of teams we beat. I wish I could have read this post a couple of days ago and saved myself hours of annoyed reading.
I have no idea what Coach Brown has said about his loss to Alabama, in terms of McCoy’s absence, etc. I’m sure those stories are out there, but I’ve avoided them. In any case, I like to think that, had we lost in similar circumstances to those Texas faced, Coach Saban would have focused on the way those circumstances revealed the limitations and failings of the team, rather than thinking of those circumstances as an excuse for losing. “How can we make sure we’ve done everything in our power to succeed?” and “What did we do that didn’t work, and what can we do in the future that may work better?” are the questions he’s always asking, rather than “What happened beyond our control to make it so that we couldn’t succeed?” and “What can we say to ourselves that will excuse us from the difficult task of addressing our weaknesses?” Of course, part of The Process seems to be sticking with what you know is a good plan, regardless of whether contingent circumstances have made it fail when it normally would succeed. So perhaps that’s what all these Texas fans are on about: they’re being blamed for having a bad team, when they think their plan was a good plan that went wrong for reasons that will not be replicated going forward.
But is that a reasonable thing to think about this Texas team, in these circumstances? Our defense is absolutely monstrous. And having looked at BON’s analysis of the play in which McCoy got taken out, and the play itself over and over, I have to say that it looks like he was terrified of getting hit by Jackson. I think we have reason to believe that even that early on, the Texas offense was shaking in their proverbial boots at the prospect of 60 minutes of playing our guys. I don’t think it’s stretching things to call our defense “dreaded.” McCoy probably was already having flashbacks of Suh, many times over. When you’re frightened like that, you make mistakes, whether they’re injury-enabling mistakes or not. Think about that play again: McCoy’s mistake there may have only led to his injury through something we might call “bad luck,” but the play was designed to keep him away from just that kind of bad luck, and he ran it wrong. That says nothing about “deserving” the “luck” he got — no one deserves that, and I think most if not all ‘Bama fans would have preferred to play against McCoy all night long, just to make the victory absolutely clear. But it brings to mind the idea that if you lose because of officiating, a bad bounce, a gust of wind, or whatever, then you really lost because you put yourself in a position to be defeated by the officials, a clump of grass, a gust of wind, or whatever. And that’s on you, no one else.
At the end of the day, every team is responsible for what they do, and what they are able to do, on the field, under whatever circumstances obtain. I wish Coach Saban would sometimes let himself openly enjoy his victories more, but I like knowing that his focus is always on looking for ways to improve, not looking for reasons to stay the same and curse the world.
by Hegelian on Jan 11, 2010 9:06 AM CST reply actions 1 recs
Wow .....
Yes, something happened. Auburn won everything but the scoreboard.This was not suppose to happen!!! Alabama was not suppose to allow this!! It was just Auburn for goodness sakes, right?? Wrong.
asdf
Not a perfect day but an AUsome day. And with already picking up some of the top recruits in the nation (#8 class in the nation), a new coaching staff that have eyes of the tiger, and an AU family ready to support them all, we only have one question- when does the 2010 season start?
War Eagle!"
The reason people call the Florida-Tennessee game a “moral victory” of a sort was because of all the talk in the off-season about how Florida wanted to beat the crap out of Lane Kiffin. For all of their bravado, a Florida team that would go 13-1 looked very vulnerable and not-explosive against a Tennessee team that would go 7-6. Not only that, after the game Urban Meyer decided to try to tell everyone that Tennessee wasn’t trying to win — ignore the fact that at that point in the year our QB was playing completely horribly — by not passing downfield (both deep passes I remember in that game were intercepted) and that the reason his offense wasn’t explosive was because his players have the Flu. Boy Wonder got the best, image-wise, of Urban Meyer in that game. That’s where we consider it a “victory”
But to lose, at home, to your biggest rival, in a game that you controlled, in a game where you played your best football game of the year (imo, Auburn did play a mostly outstanding game) and then fail on a final drive, is not the way to gain national respect. It’s not a victory, not really, except in the fact that you played hard. But you lost where it counted.
That, and is that guy really proud that fans stayed around on Senior Day?! Really?
Not to mention, why wasn’t that guy asking some different questions? “Who will our bowl opponent be?” “Will our horribly inconsistent team show up for the bowl?” Not to mention, is that the best the guy can come up with? AUsome? I kind of feel retarded pronouncing that in my head. ay-uh-suhm? A-You-Some?
… Of course, Tennessee has this. But I’m going to ignore that.
Tennessee Fans: We win at teh Internet!
by bobo_the_vol on Jan 11, 2010 9:29 AM CST up reply actions
clay travis should be ignored.
What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit, but more powerful.
-Hank Hill
I threw up a little in my mouth when I read that
"Yeah, it's Tennessee, that's the way it is sometimes." - Corey Zickefoose, Pulitzer Prize winner and robbery victim
by Thomas Walker Esq on Jan 11, 2010 12:35 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
wow wow wow......
wonder how this guy is feeling now……Heisman candidate disposed of huh – not so much……Barn won everything but the scoreboard? haha…….barn won three plays all day – the reverse, that halfback pass, and the long bomb…….but by far my favorite, as in, almost too good to be true: “And with already picking up some of the top recruits in the nation (#8 class in the nation)”……funny funny stuff……some of the top recruits in the nation? I guess he means dyer by some……#8 in the nation!!!!!! and #5 in the SEC lolz……..barner tears are so very sweet…….they have to win this…….they had two moral victories in one game 1)costing Ingram the Heisman 2)they really actually beat us on the field, except for that pesky keeping score shit……AUlmost !!!!!!!
You're a wicked man, kleph!
Da barners win.
Beat Auburn? CHECK. 12-0 regular season? CHECK. Beat the #1 Gators for the SECCG? CHECK. Ingram wins the Heisman? CHECK. Tide defeats the Longhorns for the BCS Championship? CHECK!
This offends me
Where’s our moral victory, huh? We would have TOTALLY beaten you guys if you hadn’t ILLEGALLY used a superior power run game to wear our defense down by the fourth quarter or UNFAIRLY forced all those three-and-outs. Your victory over the mighty Hokies was complete rubbish. Now we can’t even compete for the MVNC.
Once again, Virginia Tech is cheated by the system.
A bullhorn, a bottle of whiskey and a dream. GobblerCountry.com
by furrer4heisman on Jan 11, 2010 10:02 AM CST reply actions 1 recs
sorry...
you have to lodge your wining at the time of the loss to be included in the MVNC.
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
Funny stuff.
Don’t forget these others though:
Boise State- According to MeanBob, out west they are disputing Alabama as champions because Boise State beat TCU and we should have lost to Texas.
Nebraska- The game should have been over! (*technically true).
Notre Dame- At least we didn’t suffer the indignity of a lower tier bowl.
Georgia- OMG we’re going to get your defensive coordinator!
What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit, but more powerful.
-Hank Hill
I would love to follow up on Bob's comments
and I will once I find a fan blog for them…They should be added to the list. You play a WEAK schedule, and whine about not playing for a NC?
Please. Half the teams on our schedule would kills BSU.
You play fast, you play strong, you go out there and dominate the guy you play against, and make his ass quit! That's our trademark, that's our MO as a team, aight, that's what people know us as! - Nick Saban, 2008
by BamaReturns07 on Jan 11, 2010 10:19 AM CST up reply actions
Actually...
…that was just one USCe fan…and he wears a visor….
"High standards come from passion within...." --Coach Nick Saban
by NiceLittleSaturday on Jan 11, 2010 3:56 PM CST up reply actions
Very funny...
Witty humor at its finest. Congrats again Bama Nation. Well deserved.
"Stats are for losers. I like winning games." - Will Muschamp
"Somebody will always break your records. It is how you live that counts." - Earl Campbell
The Tennessee v. Auburn matchup always gives me fits
But I’ll give the edge to the Barn here. History tells us that we should never bet against the Barn in a moral victory battle (i.e. Eufala Times National Champions).
That's pretty funny.
Though I’ve personally never said we shut down your running game. I will say we gave you hell. :)
As for LSU, even if it was ruled as a catch, they still would of had to go 60 yards against a great Bama defense. I don’t think the outcome would have changed things, but that call did seal the win.
As for Tennessee, didn’t watch the game, just heard about it. Personally, being from Tennessee and having many high school friends at UT, I’m glad you won. Cody is a big boy.
As for Texas, I was sad to see McCoy hurt, I mean the best games are when all players are performing their best. You guys still fought hard for it. I will give props to Gilbert from coming in and giving his best (even with the mistakes).
Congratulations on your National Champions Title, Bama. You never gave up and always fought hard to the end. Looking forward to Iron Bowl 2010 already!
Class Act
For those who weren’t there to enjoy it in person, be aware of two things: the Bammers behaved very well (for the most part), and the Texas fans could not have been more gracious. Even though they were disappointed, they were all great sports and genuinely nice. RTR.
Very clever indeed.
It’s been too long since I’ve had a good belly-laugh. Thanks.
"I don’t care if they put three guys on me," Cody said. "I don’t care about tackles, and I don’t care about numbers. I care about winning games, and we’ve got one more to win." - The Legend of Terrence Cody
Nice job.
I live in Louisiana so there were some “heated” arguements over that game. The talk shows were filled with "the league wants an undefeated SEC champion, Alabama pays off the refs, blah,blah blah…
But the Texas s*&t is getting ridiculous: spearing, illegal hits, Dareus ejected, if Colt…..
Nevertheless, a very hard decision indeed. But I would think Texas ..just shut up.
then i take it you know the difference...
between a coonass and a jackass…
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
This contest is hilarious...
I love it. Since all the AU and LSU fans I know were rooting for us in the MNC, and since I honestly don’t know any UT fans, I’d like to nominate Texas to be the “MVNC ‘winner’”. I have never in my life heard so many excuses.
While all the Texas fans at the game were gracious, all the fans I’ve come across here in Texas are refusing to admit we won. And I do mean literally looking me in the eye and telling me that they, in fact, won the game. Because Colt was hurt.
It’s ok, though, because I direct them to their local sporting goods stores where all of the “Texas National Champions 2009” t-shirts are on sale for $5.99.
by Queen of the Universe on Jan 11, 2010 9:53 PM CST reply actions
From "Here" In Texas...
…congrats, you guys won. We (Texas) lost. Game (and debate) Over. Enjoy the spoils of victory! Peace…
Colt McCoy who?
Texas-I respect, sorry you lost your QB.
LSU- please quit crying about Saban leaving, move on.
Tenn- I think you reap what you sew, your reaping now.
Auburn- I hate everything about you and your cow college, its gonna be a tough road with Giznik leading the blind. RTR
Roll Tide
Great Job
I think Ohio State wants to borrow this after losing to Purdue.
A futile crusade to prevent mass ignorance
HammerAndRails, SBNation's Boilermaker Blog
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